Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1887-03-11
AN EARLY SPRING.
Good Story About IngersoI.
From, the Chicago Mems.


81 served in Bob lngersolPs command"
said veteran of the Ochitree club at
the panorama of Bull Run In Washington
the other day, land whenever L want to
have good laugh | recall in my mind
the incidents connected with his capture
in Tennessee. l have seen somewhere a
cruel paragraph to the effect that the
Colonel surrendered very willingly, and [
want to brand that falseh0od for what it
Is. A Drawer man Inever saw IN five years
of service. We were scattered over a
good deal of territory surrounding a viii
lage at the time the Colonel was taken in
and cared for by the Johnnies. We were
in a skirmish at the time,and the Colonel
was trying to get to ademoTalized wing of
his command. AS he was passing through
a series of catte-pens, be was surround
ed by a lot OF Contederates and command
ed to surrender, but he didn't do it worth
cent. He kept right on running at
breakneck speed. He was not so stout
then as now, and as pedestrian he was
no slouch. the bullets were flying about
other branch OF his command he felt that
he could rally the boys and win the fight.
A mum Der of his men saw that he was in
imminent peril, and that if he didn't sur
render he would be killed, and they
yelled at him at the top of their
voices to stop and surrender. He needed,
but could see that he did SO with regret
and disgust.
"Here is where the humor began. When
the Colonel stopped he threw up his hands
and shouted out stop tiringi Pll acknOwl-
edge your - old Confederacyv The
Colonel was taken over TO store Tor safe
keeping, and he proved to be q great
curiosity. People flocked around him,
listened to his stories, laughed, and de-
clared that they were having more fun
than they ever had In their lives. That
night The Colonel sat around the store
till a gOodly number Of the Coniederates
came In, and then began TO treat and tell
yarns. Finally the crowd overflowed the
place and blocked up the entrance to it..
Then the Colonel went outside. The boys
were ali feeling well under the potency OF
words and drinks,an every man, woman,
and child within the sound of his voice
loved him. Directly the Colonel was
asked to make a speech. This was what
he was working for, and a minute later
he was on a box and addressing the crowd
and it was q right rough crowd, too.
No lecture that the great orator has ever
delivered contained 80 much that was
good in 1t. 1t fairly dubbed over with
goodwill and the milk OF human Kindness.
He pictured how regretfully the North
took up arms against the South, remind
Ing his hearers that they had fired the
fret shot IN their assault upon Fort Sum-
ter. Then he went OFF on slavery, placing
the poor white before him in the place OF
the unfortunate blacks, people with
souls and all the instincts OF the whites,
butdowntrOdden for no other reason than
that they were black. He pictured the
scene when those who had held human
souls in bondage were called before the
Judgment throne to answer deeds done IN
the flesh. 1t was touching appeal, and
brought out streams or tears and storms
OF applause from the very men who had
but few hours before shot at and cap
tured him.
AT the moment when the most pathetic
passages in his speech were being deliv-
cred Gen. Forrest, the Confederate
cavalryman whose command had made
the capture, rushed into the crowd, all
agow with excitement, but not angry,
and exclaimed: Here, Ingersoll, stop
that speech and I'll exchange you for a
government MULE A short time alter
ward Col. Ingersoll was paroled. He was
demoralizing the whole OF that command,
and would have had it revolving against
its commander had he been allowed to 90
on for two or three days as he had on the
first day."